DenseBreast-info.org (DBI) applauds the implementation of a National Breast Density Reporting Standard. The Federal requirement goes into effect on September 10, 2024, after which, all mammography facilities must provide a woman with either “not dense” or “dense” standardized notification developed by the FDA’s National Mammography Quality Assurance Advisory Committee (NMQAAC).
“Now that all U.S. women will be informed, some women will be learning they have dense breasts for the first time. This creates a new educational frontier for DenseBreast-info to help women understand the notice and what it means in terms of risk and considerations for supplemental screening,” said JoAnn Pushkin, Executive Director of DenseBreast-info.org. Breast density reporting was added to the 2011 NMQAAC agenda at the written request of Pushkin, who was also invited to testify at the meeting.
In response to the implementation of the national reporting standard, DBI, the most comprehensive resource on breast density, has launched new educational content to help women understand the implications of breast density and prepare them to have informed conversations with their providers:
- Is My Mammogram Enough? details breast cancer risk factors to consider.
- Screening Tests After a Mammogram (currently the website’s most popular page) features a table showing theaverage number of cancers detected by breast screening tests.
To help health providers prepare for patient questions, DBI offers many educational tools, including an educational video series on topics such as the implications of dense tissue, supplemental screening, risk assessment, screening guidelines, and insurance coverage. New content includes table, Cancer Detection by Screening Method in Dense Breasts, and a collaboration with ASRT on a CE credit opportunity, “Dense Breasts, Supplemental Screening and new MQSA Reporting Requirements.”
Currently 32 states and DC have enacted laws for expanded insurance coverage for breast imaging beyond mammography (see DBI’s insurance map). However, like state density inform laws, the state insurance laws are inconsistent, and many types of insurance plans are exempt from state laws. To ensure all health insurance plans cover screening and diagnostic breast imaging with no out-of-pockets costs for women with dense breasts or at higher risk for breast cancer, DBI is working with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro on the Find it Early Act, federal legislation that would close loopholes in state laws.
According to Dr. Wendie Berg, Professor of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Hospital, Department of Radiology and Chief Scientific Advisor, DenseBreast-info.org, “To benefit from appropriate screening, women must know their breast density and other risk factors. This notification standard is essential to giving women and their health providers the information needed to discuss optimal screening.”
DenseBreast-info, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit supported by unrestricted educational grants and donations from: GE HealthCare, Bayer Healthcare, Bayer AG, Myriad Genetics, Hologic, Volpara Health, Beekley Medical, iCAD, CMR Naviscan, Bracco Diagnostics, Vaso Healthcare and Magview.
